Library and information science

CD-ROM briefs: must today's high tech lawyers wait until the playing field is level?

Article Abstract:

CD-ROM or hypertext legal briefs should become increasingly common in the federal courts. Three federal decisions in 1997, including one by the Supreme Court, indicated a general willingness to accept CD-ROM briefs. One court's refusal to accept one out of fear that it would prejudice litigants too poor to do the same illustrated fears that CD-ROM briefs will disadvantage some parties. Use of CD-ROM briefs should go forward even without a level playing field.

Whose genetic information is it anyway? A legal analysis of the effects that mapping the human genome will have on privacy rights and genetic discrimination

Article Abstract:

The work of the Human Genome Project has created the possibility that employers and the insurance industry could discriminate against people who are at increased risk for genetic or other diseases. This article reviews current laws that could help prevent this and proposes new legislation to make the prohibition of genetic discrimination more effective.

Lawyers who lie on-line: how should the legal profession respond to eBay ethics?

Article Abstract:

This article considers the ethical obligations of attorneys who buy and sell items on the Internet, using services such as eBay. The author argues that the legal profession needs to do a better job of educating lawyers that their high ethical standards apply in activities which do not constitute law practice.